


Fade

by liveloveartmusic



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Basically what happens after Neo Marry Poppins' away in Volume 3, F/M, Last Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:01:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25555516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liveloveartmusic/pseuds/liveloveartmusic
Summary: “You know what they say: if you can’t beat them-”That’s all Neo could hear before Little Red clicked the bright pink eject button on Hush and sent her flying into the Grimm-infested sky.(All characters belong to Rooster Teeth's RWBY)
Relationships: Neopolitan/Roman Torchwick
Comments: 2
Kudos: 32





	Fade

**Author's Note:**

> A couple of friends and I in a server I'm in were talking about v3 ch11 angst with Roman and Neo  
> Add that plus the fact that RT hasn't given us any backstory for Neo yet and this is what's created!
> 
> (I'm so sad about these two haha)

“You know what they say: if you can’t beat them-”

That’s all Neo could hear before Little Red clicked the bright pink eject button on Hush and sent her flying into the Grimm-infested sky. She began to turn around to see if she could catch one last glance at Roman on the airship, but the harsh winds tossing her roughly had sent her flying towards the ground quickly. 

Even with the Grimm scraping against her skin and clothes, all Neo could think of was Roman’s safety. She wasn’t worried about whether or not a young girl would be too much of an opponent for him; no, she was more worried about the avian creatures wreaking havoc on the area. Neo noticed one lone Gryphon making its way towards the airship that she’d just left, but then mentally shrugs the thought away. Surely that wasn’t the only Grimm that coincidentally made its way towards Roman, right?

A minute or so later after still descending, Neo heard a Gryphon’s shriek, a loud crash, and the creaking of broken machinery. Pain wracked her entire body. Her eyes widened. She managed to turn around and her heart froze. The airship that she was on… the one that Roman was _still_ on had burst into flames and was crashing down faster than she was. Neo’s heart began racing, knowing that her worst fears may turn into her reality. The airship soon passed her, exploding on impact with the ground. She felt her aura shatter, a light pink glow glistening and fading behind her. Neo felt slightly more at ease knowing his aura had just depleted. If he could make it through an airship crash, surely he’d be able to crawl away from the wreckage and wait for her to bring them to safety. She looked down once more. Neo found herself maybe a minute away from touching the ground. A minute away from reuniting with her love.

Seconds later, the remains of the airship exploded. Neo felt the overpowering heat from the flames. The powerful blast sent her farther away from the ruins. She couldn’t cry; she could only blink tears out of her icy white eyes. A sharp, deadly pain ripped through her abdomen that filled her head with white. Her unused voice tore out as she screams for the first time in years. It was a pain she’s never experienced before even in the line of work she’s in, which only lead her to realize that the nightmares she’s woken up to ever since learning Cinder’s plan were becoming true. 

In an attempt to find Roman before it was too late, Neo closed Hush and began to plunge faster towards the ground. She opened Hush again at the last minute to safely land, then throwing the parasol to the side and running as fast as she could closer to the ruins. Neo searched for him deep within her soul, hoping to find just a flicker of life still there. 

It was faint, but his soul was still glowing and calling out to her. She ran through crumbled rocks, tripping from time to time yet still carrying on. She felt her light dimming and picked up the pace before she found what she never believed she’d see in her lifetime.

Grimm remains that hadn’t yet dissipated into the air were against nearby debris. A charred feather or two laid on rocks, with the scent of burnt metal lurking in the air. Neo’s eyes diverted towards what she feared to look at the most. Roman was on the ground, slightly slouched over and cradled by chunks of concrete and metal. His visible eye looked close to lifeless; a trickle of blood exiting his mouth. A pole had impaled his abdomen in the same place Neo could still feel the throbbing pain. Her heart began to beat faster, which Roman must have still managed to feel as he looked up at her with a weak smile. 

“Neo…” 

Neo began walking slowly towards him, her knees giving out as she was closer to him. She fell, kneeling in front of him and tossing Hush to the side. She couldn’t hold her tears any longer as uncontrollable sobs wracked her body. Roman slowly cupped her cheek with a gloved hand, the rips and holes in the gloves allowing for Neo to feel the last bits of warmth Roman had left in him. Neo choked and attempted to clear her throat.

“ _Ro-_ ”

“Don’t hurt yourself, darling. It’s gonna be alright.” She shook her head profusely. “Hey, look at me.” Neo brushed his dust-matted hair away from his face, white eyes meeting his emerald ones. She ran a thumb across the scar on his right eye. A scar that he had gotten when they were only children. After everything they’ve been through, was it all truly ending right now? 

“I want you to run away.” Neo began to grab tighter onto Roman, already refusing. “I want you to run away as fast as you can when I…,” he paused to cough. “You know what I mean.” Neo still refused to leave him. “You’re still wanted even when I pass, Neo. If… if they find you…” She could feel him drift away deep inside, his light becoming merely embers as he spoke. More tears fell as she realized he probably would last longer than a couple more minutes. “You’re stronger than anyone I’ve known, Neo.” Roman’s voice became quiet. “Never let anyone take that from you. Please.” 

Neo sniffled and wiped her eyes, nodding quickly. Roman extended his arms towards her weakly. Without anything spoken, Neo scooted closer, making sure to not go near the sharp pole in his side. She wrapped her arms around his chest as his arms loosely went around her. Silent tears fell down Neo’s cheeks once more as she looked up at Roman, his lips curled into the faintest smile as he looked up at the shattered moon with half-lidded eyes. 

“I love you, Neo.” His words reduced to a whisper and his eyes closed. 

“ _I love you, too,_ ” Neo managed to choke out. 

Neo pushed herself towards Roman’s face, cupping his face with shaky hands and pressing a kiss gently on his lips as he took his last breath. A peachy glow surrounded the two of them, the combination of their souls that they had bonded together for years. The glow surrounded Neo, swirling around her before she felt the warm rush of the glow enter her body. Neo froze for a few seconds before her sobs began again realizing that Roman was now dead. 

Neo stayed in Roman’s cold, limp embrace for what seemed like hours. She couldn’t leave him, as much as he wanted her to before he had passed. She knew this would be the last time she’d ever see him and hold him. She brought herself to look at his face. If it weren’t for his paled skin and the pole in his side, he looked as if he was peacefully asleep. Neo bunched his dirty white coat in her fists and buried her face into his chest. 

Neo’s eyes widened as she heard the wailing sound of sirens in the distance. 

“ _You’re still wanted even when I pass, Neo. If… if they find you…_ ”

The sound of the sirens was coming closer, and Neo could see an Atlesian airship and searchlights in the distance. They’re looking for survivors. And she knew, even if she was a survivor herself, she wouldn’t be treated with as much kindness as a civilian would. Neo looked at Roman and contemplated her choices. She couldn’t leave Roman. But if she stayed and was arrested… 

It wasn’t hard to do but Neo pried herself away from Roman, quickly standing up and stumbling a little on crumbling rocks on the ground. She squinted and noticed that the airship was now dropping Atlesian androids to search the area. Her heartbeat quickened as she looked around the area. There was an exit into the forest nearby. Surely no one would follow her into a Grimm infested woods. Turning towards Roman one last time, she noticed his bowler hat dangling on a piece of metal lodged in between rocks. Neo quickly grabbed it as if it’d disappear in seconds. It was dusty and the feather was slightly burnt, but it was still in good shape. She propped it on her head, recalling all the times she’d playfully steal it off Roman’s head and place it on her own. 

Neo grabbed Hush tightly, pressing a button to release the top blade to prepare herself for anything that comes her way. She leaned down hesitantly towards Roman, brushing dirt off his face and kissing cold lips one last time. 

“ _I love you._ ” 

Neo took a few steps back, held Roman’s bowler hat down, and began running as far as she could away from the destruction. 

She was alone again.


End file.
